Strietmatter v. Procter & Gamble Co.

657 F. Supp. 548, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18262
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedMarch 25, 1983
DocketNo. 82-632-M Civ
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 657 F. Supp. 548 (Strietmatter v. Procter & Gamble Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Strietmatter v. Procter & Gamble Co., 657 F. Supp. 548, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18262 (D.N.M. 1983).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MECHEM, Senior District Judge.

This matter comes on for consideration on plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on the issues of negligence and strict liability. The plaintiffs, Theresa and Stanley Strietmatter, have brought this diversity action against various Procter & Gamble companies alleging that Mrs. Strietmatter contracted toxic shock syndrome (TSS) after using Rely Tampons. The plaintiffs assert that Mrs. Strietmatter suffered severe and permanent injuries as a result of using Rely Tampons. Three causes of action have been pled—breach of warranty, negligence and strict liability but only the latter two are at issue in this motion.

The Strietmatters base their motion on the fact that juries found against the Procter & Gamble companies in two prior federal diversity district court cases, Kehm v. Procter & Gamble, Civ. No. C80-119 (N.D. Iowa, Judge McManus) and Lampshire v. Procter & Gamble, Civ. No. 80-1567 (D.Colo., Judge Finesilver) on the issue of negligence and/or strict liability. The plaintiffs are arguing that the Procter & Gamble companies should now be collaterally estopped from relitigating their liability on these issues. Both lawsuits involved different plaintiffs but Kehm was against all four of the defendant companies while Lampshire was against three of the four defendant companies. Thus, the Strietmatters are attempting to use the doc[549]*549trine of collateral estoppel offensively. See Parklane Hosiery v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322, 99 S.Ct. 645, 58 L.Ed.2d 552 (1979). For the reasons explained in this opinion, I find that this motion is not well taken and will be denied.

First, Lampshire v. Procter & Gamble is not a final judgment for the purposes of collateral estoppel. The Lampshire jury returned an inconsistent special verdict form, finding for the minor plaintiff on the issues of strict liability and negligence but failing to assess damages. Upon a post-trial motion, Judge Finesilver vacated the judgment and set the case for retrial. The parties subsequently settled the suit with no admissions of liability.

It is axiomatic that before an issue can be precluded, the issue determined in the prior adjudication must be “sufficiently firm to be accorded conclusive effect.” Restatement, Judgment 2d, § 13. In setting aside the jury’s verdict, Judge Finesilver determined “the inconsistency inherent in these verdicts ... *lie[s] deeper’ than an inadequate award of damages.” Order entered June 1, 1982, citing Cheney v. Moler, 285 F.2d 116 (10th Cir.1960). Since the action of the jury was a nullity, the issues determined in the special verdict form cannot be given conclusive effect.

When determining what collateral estoppel effect Kehm should have on the present case, if any, the threshhold issue is whether the federal law of collateral estoppel or the law of the forum, in this case New Mexico, on collateral estoppel should apply. The parties have presented both sides of the argument and it is apparent that a split exists among the circuits. The Second and Fifth Circuits have held that where the prior judgment is a federal judgment, its collateral estoppel effect is governed by federal law even where jurisdiction in the prior federal suit was based on diversity. Comm. Box & Lumber Co., Inc. v. Uniroyal, Inc., 623 F.2d 371 (5th Cir. 1980); Aerojet-General Corp. v. Askew, 511 F.2d 710 (5th Cir.1975), app. dism’d. 423 U.S. 908, 96 S.Ct. 210, 46 L.Ed.2d 137 (1975); Kern v. Hettinger, 303 F.2d 333 (2d Cir.1962); See also, 8 Fed. Proc., L.Ed. § 20:370 (1982).

On the other hand, two circuits, virtually without discussion, have held that the state law of collateral estoppel should apply in this situation. Schneider v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 658 F.2d 835, 851, n. 17 (D.C.Cir.1981); Gatewood v. Fiat, 617 F.2d 820, 826, n. 11 (D.C.Cir.1980); Morgan v. Inter-Continental Trading Corp., 360 F.2d 853 (7th Cir.1966); Lindsay v. Cutter Lab., Inc., 536 F.Supp. 799 (W.D.Wis.1982); See also 19 A.L.R.Fed. 709, Law Governing Res Judicata. Two other circuits have found that since there was no difference between the applicable state law of collateral estoppel and the federal law, they need not decide the issue. See, Garrigan v. Giese, 553 F.2d 35, 36-7, n. 2 (8th Cir.1977); Lynne Carol Fashions, Inc. v. Cranston Print Works Company, 453 F.2d 1177, 1179-81 (3rd Cir.1972).

The Tenth Circuit has not addressed the issue. Coppedge v. Clinton, 72 F.2d 531 (10th Cir.1934), the only Tenth Circuit case remotely on point, considered the effect of a prior state court judgment in a subsequent federal diversity case. The parties have strenuously argued this point since the New Mexico law of collateral estoppel and the federal law differ. New Mexico still requires mutuality of parties before collateral estoppel can be applied. State v. Rogers, 90 N.M. 604, 607, 566 P.2d 1142, 1145 (1977). Since the plaintiffs in Kehm and in the present case cannot claim mutuality, application of New Mexico law would absolutely preclude the offensive use of collateral estoppel.

After analyzing the cases, I have concluded the better reasoned approach is that adopted by the Fifth and Second Circuits. The application of collateral estoppel is primarily a procedural problem. Therefore, most courts have reasoned that to enable them to function effectively as a cohesive system, “the force and effect of a judgment rendered in a federal district court upon an action pending in other federal district courts should properly be determined under federal law.” In re Air Crash Disaster, 350 F.Supp. 757, 764 (S.D. Ohio 1972), rev. sub nom. on other [550]*550grounds, Humphreys v. Tann, 487 F.2d 666 (6th Cir.1973).

Having decided that the federal law of collateral estoppel should apply, I must then analyze whether the Procter & Gamble companies should be estopped from re-litigating the issue of strict liability under the guidelines of Parklane Hosiery v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322, 99 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
657 F. Supp. 548, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strietmatter-v-procter-gamble-co-nmd-1983.